Zuckerhütl

On a sunny Saturday early in the season - at a time when the snow conditions were still manageable and many ski tours were simply not feasible - we had the same brilliant idea as hundreds of others: Up to the Zuckerhütl, the highest peak in the Stubai Alps, popularly known as the "Hiatl". And so we found ourselves in the middle of the action, torn between a genuine mountain experience, magnificent scenery - and a tour that at times felt more like a queue than alpine solitude.

High alpine tour with an almost endless descent down into the Stubaital. Often still worthwhile late in the spring.

The Stubai Alps are a versatile and popular ski touring area due to their size, diversity and convenient location. You can find the right ski tour for practically all conditions and all seasons. While the Brenner mountains, the Sellrain and the area around the Axamer Lizum are popular and proven destinations in early and high winter, the tours on the main ridge become interesting in spring. Even at the end of May, you can often still find perfect conditions in the highest areas of the Stubai Alps.

PowderGuide presents another new editorial feature: every week we will present a particularly recommendable freeride tour. Whether it's a classic ski tour with a particularly great descent, a freeride variant with a pleasant approach or a crisp steep descent – every week, experienced freeriders and tourers will provide you with a TouringTip that will whet your appetite for freeriding and touring. The tour descriptions will provide you with the most important information you need to follow: difficulty, topographical map, duration, altitude and much more. In addition to a detailed route description, you can also look forward to beautiful nature and downhill pictures.
We start with a Tyrolean ski touring classic, the Zuckerhütl. Despite poor snow conditions, this tour can even be undertaken at the moment (4.12.11).

Autumn is an unfavorable time for ski tourers. Although some glacier ski areas in Tyrol open their lifts as early as September, skiing off the groomed pistes is usually out of the question due to a lack of snow and the risk of crevasses falling. As a result, the start of this year's ski touring season was mainly characterized by the search. The search for enough snow under the boards.